Weft replenishing mechanism for looms



Nov. 17, 1931. w. M. WATTIE 1,832,597

WEFT REPLENISHING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed April 15, 1929 JAA/E/VTOFMALAY/ 7 Z M17775 Patented Nov. '17, 1931 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

WILLIAM M. WATTIE, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON &KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS WEET REPLENISHING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Application filedApril 15,

This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms, andit is the general object of the invention to provide a magazine framereinforced below the transferrer arm to increase the strength of themagazine and also assist in guiding a bobbin properly in transferposition.

The usual transferrer arm of a weft replenishing loom comprises arelatively large hub from which depend two substantially similar legswhich support the lay engaging latch. Extending substantiallyhorizontally from the hub is an L-shaped arm which extends rearwardlyand then turns to extend substantially parallel to and above the lay.

It has been found in practice that breakage of the transferrer arms ismore likely to occur in the horizontal portion thereof and it is animportant object of my present invention to provide the transferrer armof a built-up unit one portion of which is provided for the latch andthe other portion of which is the bobbin engaging part of thetransferrer, the latter part being replaceable without requiring renewalof the part which supports the latch.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide the two partsof the transferrer arm with spaced separate bearings through whichextend preferably a common supporting stud, the spaced bearings tendingto prevent uncertainty of motion of the transferrer arm and therebyinsuring more perfect transfers of bobbins into the active shuttle.

As customarily made the transferrer arm and latch are connected by asimple pivot and any movement of the latch out of the path of the bunteron the lay is effected by gravity. When a shuttle is misplaced on atransferring beat of the loom and revocation of the magazine isrequired, the support for the latch is ordinarily lowered and if thelatch should be slow in its descent it will be engaged by the lay and animproper transfer will result.-'- I have found with looms running at ahigh rate of speed that the time interval for the latch to clear thehunter on revoking picks is verysmall and as a result improper Ytransfers occur. It is a further object of my 1929. Serial No. 355,020.

present invention to provide means which will assist gravity in loweringthe transferrer latch, said means preferably though not necessarilycomprising a resilient interconnectlon between the latch and thetransferrer arm effective to insure immediate and rapid descent of thelatch when the shuttle is not properly placed.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a compositetransferrer arm havmg two independent parts each of which is removablefrom the loom without disturbing the other part. This result is attainedas shown herein by pivoting the transferrer arm members or parts to astud on opposite sldes of the supporting structure for the stud.

Multicolor weft replenishing magazines customarily employ twosubstantially parallel spaced plates between which the bobbins lie. Theinner plate near the selvage of the clothhas mounted thereon supportsfor the butt of the bobbin and also operating slides which effectrelease of the bobbins from the stacks. The previously mentioned portionof the transferrer arm which is parallel to the lay extends through andmoves in an arcuate slot formed in the inner plate. Heretofore this slothas been open at the bottom, thus weakening the lower portion of theinner magazine plate. It is an important object of my present inventionto link the front and back lower portions of the inner plate below theslot so that the plate will be stronger' than previously. When such achange is made it is necessary to provide clearance on the transferrerarm and this I accomplish by making a recess in that part of thetransferrer arm which'extends parallel to the lay, said recess, when thetransferrer arm is in its lowest position, receiving the link whichdefines the bottom of the slot. That side of the link next the reservebobbins is continuous with the adjoining side or surface of the magazineplate, and for thisreason guides the bobbin moving toward transferposition.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and andset forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my invention applied to a magazine asviewed from the center of the loom,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fi g. 3 is a detailed substantial vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 2,with some of the parts broken away for the sake of clearness, and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 44 of Fig. 1 showing thetransferrer arm in lowered position from that which it occupies inFig. 1. and showing the relation it sustains to the link.

Referring to the drawings I have shown a magazine M having a foot whichis supported by a loom frame 11. The magazine has a stand 12 providedwith a hub 13 through which extends a relatively large stud 14. Aninside plate 15 cast integral with the stand has slidably mountedthereon a plurality of vertical bobbin controlling members 16. Theforward lower portion of the plate 15 has pivoted thereto as at 17 afront yieldable bobbin support 18 for the butts of the bobbins B. Therear butt support 19 is indicated in dotted lines in 1.

At the time of transfer one or another of the members 16 will have avertical reciproeating movement to rock the corresponding cradle 20 andeffect discharge of a bobbin. from the associated stack. A releasedbobbin will move downwardly and be held in transfer position by thesupports. During the forward beat of the lay L the bobbin on thesupports is transferred into the shuttle S by mechanism to be described.The magazine is of the multicolor type and may be of the usualconstruction, the forward butt giveway 18 being substantially the sameas that shown in Hume & King No. 1,703,935 and the rear support beingsubstantially the same as that shown in patent to Ryon No. 1,366,950.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a latch supportingelement having a hub 31 pivoted on stud 14 and held against longitudinalmovement on said stud by the hub 13 and a pin 32 extending through oneend of the stud. The latch member 30 is provided with a pair ofdepending legs 33 which have pivoted thereto a latch holder 34. The layengaging latch 35 is held in a slot 36 in the holder by means of bolt 37and said latch is adjusted longitudinally with respect to the holder bymeans of screw 38.

A leaf spring 39 shown more particularly in Fig. 1 has a lower portionthereof 40 secured by screws 41 to the upper portion of the latch 35.The upper end of said spring is bent slightly as at 42 and has slidingengagement with the rear face 43 on one of the legs 33. A rod 44 whichis part of the ordinary multicolor magazine extends downwardly from theupper portion of the magazine and extends under the latch, said rodmoving upwardly preparatory to transfer to raise the latch 35 into thepath of the bunter 45 on the lay. The spring 39 acts normally to holdthe latch 35 depressed and upward movement of the latch by means of therod 44 places the spring 39 under additional stress.

The transferrer mechanism consists of a second member 46 having a hub 47pivoted on stud 14 between a shoulder on the stud 14 and the hub 13.Extending rearwardly from the hub 46 is an arm 48 which is bent at rightangles and projected over and substantially parallel to the lay andhaving a bobbin engaging foot 49. The foot 49 extends through a slot 50formed in the plate 15 of the magazine frame. The rearwardly extendingarm 48 has cast integrally therewith a lug 51 which projects into aforked arm 52 having :1 pair of elements shown in dotted lines in Fig.1, and extending rearwardly from and rigid with the first namedtransferrer mechanism member 30. A bolt 53 extends through the elementsof the arm 52 and lug 51 to prevent relative angular movement betweenthe members 30 and 46 of the transferrer mechanism, and the bolt is heldagainst longitudinal movement by nut 57.

The foot 49extending through the slot 51) is provided on the under sidethereof with an upwardly extending recess 54 which receives a link 55cast integrally with the plate 15 and extending across the bottom of theslot 50. This link connects and strengthens the lower parts of the plate15 lying in front of and behind the slot 50. In order that thetransferrer arm may normally be held in raised position I provide atension spring the upper end of which may be fixed to any approved partof the magazine frame not shown and the lower portion of which isoperatively related to a stud 61 projecting from the transfer member 30.In order to limit downward motion of the transferrer arm should spring60 break, I form on the member 30 a lug through which is threaded ascrew 71 the head of which is placed to engage a boss 72 on the stand12.

Under normal conditions the parts will be in the position shown in Fig.1, the latch 35 beingheld beneath the hunter 45 when the latter is inits extreme forward position, partly by gravity and partly by theresilience of spring 39. When a transfer is about to take place the rod44 is raised, thereby elevating the latch 35 into the path of the hunter45 and at the same time placing the spring 39 under additional stress.If the shuttle be properly placed the hunter will engage the latch asthe lay advances and the transferrer arm member 30 will be given acounter-clockwise movement around stud 14 as viewed in Flg. 1. By reasonof the connection between the members 30 and 46, that is, the arm 52 andlug 51, the bobbin engaging member 49 will be depressed to move thebobbin which is resting on the supports into the shuttle. When thetransferrer arm is in its lowest position it will be in the positionshown in Fig.4 with respect to the plate 15. r

Should it be necessary to revoke the indi cation of the magazine afterthe latch has been raised mechanism not shown but well understood anddescribed in Patent No. 1,030,748 will operate to depress the rod 44.Downward movement of the latch under influence of gravity will befacilitatedby the spring 39, which under these conditions will move thelatch down with a quicker motion than has been possible heretofore whengravity alone was relied upon to move the latch out of the path of thebunter. During transfer the spring 60 is elongated, but after transferis completed the spring 60 will contract to raise the transferrer arm tothe normal position shown in Fig. 1.

Should the bobbin engaging member 49 become broken or so badly damagedas to be unfit for further use it is necessary merely to remove the bolt53 by loosening the nut 57, thereby disconnecting the member 46 from themember 30. The new member 46 can then be placed on the stud 14' and thebolt 53 returned to its normal position. In this way the expense ofsupplying a complete transferrer arm is avoided, inasmuch as the member30 and all the parts associated therewith may be saved.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the magazine frame through whichthe transferrer arm extends is strengthened by the link 55 and istherefore stronger than the plates which have heretofore been in use. Itwill further be noted that the transferrer arm is so formed as to beable to move to its lowest position without interference with the link55. Also, the link acts as a guide to direct a bobbin moving towardtransfer position so that it will come to rest correctly on the bobbinbutt supports 18 and 19 without engaging the sides of the slot 50.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is 1. Ina weft replenishing mechanism for a loom operating with reserve bobbinsadapted to move to common transfer position, a stationary plate formingpart of the magazine and holding the reserve bobbins preparatory totransfer, a transferrer arm extending through the plate and having aportion to engage a bobbin in transfer position, said plate having anopening'therethrou'gh having a continuous outline and through which thetransferrer armextends,the part of the plate lying below theopeningforthe transferrer arm acting as a guide todirect a b0ba transferrer armto extend through the slot and cooperate with a bobbin in transfer position, and a link rigid with the two parts of the magazine to stiffensaid parts, said link extending across the bottom of the slot, andacting as a guide to direct a bobbin toward transfer position.

3. In a weft replenishing mechanism for a loom having a lay andoperating with reserve bobbins adapted to move to a common transferposition, a vertically disposed plate forming part of the magazine, thebobbin to be transferred being disposed on one side of the plate, anopening extending from one side to the other side thereof through theplate, the plate being continuous along the lower edge thereof andextending under the bottom of the opening and a transferrer arm lyingpartly on the side of the plate opposite the bobbins and extendingthrough the opening and lying partly on the side of the plate on whichthe bobbins are located, the lower part of the plate under the openingacting as a guide to direct a bobbin toward transfer position.

4. In a weft replenishing magazine, a plate on one side of which reservebobbins are stored to move to transfer position, a transverse openingextending through the plate, said opening having a closed peripherywhich is located within the outline of the plate, and a transferrer armextending through the opening from one side of the plate to the other,the arm receiving power on one side of the plate and having a bobbinengaging portion on the other side of the plate, that part of the platelying below the opening having a surface continuous with the said sideof the plate and acting to guide a bobbin moving toward transferposition.

5. A weft replenishing loom operating with a plurality of reservebobbins any one of which may move to transfer position, a pair of spacedsupports for the butt of a bobbin in transfer position, a plate adjacentsaid supports to engage and prevent endwise movement of the bobbins, atransferrer member extending through the plate to force a bobbin betweenthe supports at the time of ing betweenthe'support-s t0 define the guidewhich issubstantia-lly continuous with that part of the plate whichprevents endWise movement of the bobbins.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto aflixed by signature.

WILLIAM .M. WATTIE.

